Three More for Last Year

I swear, this happens every year. The top ten lists for 2006 are good and done, and all of a sudden, I realize that I missed out on some pretty decent music that would've made one list or another if I had only been paying attention the first time around.

Well, no use whining over missed opportunities. Instead, I'm just gonna share some really bitchin' tunes. And, just so credit's given where it's due...

1. When two coworkers, on completely separate occasions, tell me about the same band, it's probably something worth checking out. The biggest obstacle was getting over the fact that these guys are all technically fetuses.

Kooks - See the World (from Inside In/Inside Out)

2. Fellow fat kid Joyce asked me to send her some Regina Spektor after seeing her open for Keane. After I saw her open for the Strokes four or five years ago, I thought she sounded like a cat being tortured. However, I'll admit the new album is pretty incredible, and this particular song became a favorite for both us.

Regina Spektor - Fidelity (from Begin to Hope)

3. Apple iPod commercial. Thank you, Steve Jobs.

The Fratellis - Flathead (from Costello Music)

Like what you hear? Then check 'em out live. All three artists will be playing at Coachella this year! To quote the great Morpheus: "Something something three bands. I do not see coincidence. I see providence. I see purpose. I believe it is our fate to be here. It is our destiny." By the way, destiny's gonna run you $287.50 after taxes and Ticketmaster's cut. But hey, at least you get your own totally useless Coachella page.

Pretty Girls Make Graves Split

Man, this sucks ass. Nick, the drummer, quit the band, and so the rest of the Pretty Girls decided they will follow suit after their tour in May.

It's bad enough that I'll miss their lush mixture of indie rock sensibility and riot grrl attitude, but what's more disconcerting is that I've yet to figure out if lead singer Andrea Zollo is chubby.

Here are two of their finest to help us all cry ourselves to sleep:

This is Our Emergency (from The New Romance)

Pyrite Pedestal (from Élan Vital)

From One Guilty Pleasure to Another

Just watch from about 2:17 and on. I swear, it's worth it.

Update: Those bastards took it down. You snooze, you lose.

"They're Like The Cranberries If Their Parents Loved Them"

That quoted from my friend Leah Dewolf here in lovely District of Columbia....

Hi everyone,
Juliet here, back for sloppy seconds, live in the basement bar at 930 club (thanks 930 for your free wifi), after drunk dialing Enoch (don't be fooled, I may have a cup of Jager in me, but I still remember everything I say) in the middle of the Camera Obscura show.

This show perfectly fits the bill here in DC, high 20s after the snow last night, everything is icy outside and in might I add with band and crowd. I listened to C.O. music at work last week preparing for this show. Unfortunately to say, that was as good as it was going to get.

Think cuteness to the max minus the puppies and kittens.
Think 60s pop/lounge band with ponytails and bangs.
Think Saddle Creek Records style with their large, six piece ensemble.
Think Rilo Kiley (and might I add, R.K. is one of my favorite bands) but super sedated.
Chris said "girl version of Belle and Sebastian" (the last I checked, Pursuit of Happiness had female vocalists and is something you can dance to)
Think of indie darlings getting married, C. O. is their band in powder blue suits, playing the wedding march with their lovely organ and again at their reception.
Think that if people were to go nuts at their show, they would resemble the Peanuts Gang in Charlie Brown Christmas.
Think of a satisfactory makeout section with no passion, while you are planning your next day...without the dude.

xo J

Okay, I Believe Now

I'll Believe It When I See It

The LA Times has reported that some pretty big bands will be playing Coachella this year.

For those of you without a log-in and don't feel like signing up, here's the article in its entirety:

Rage Against the Machine, the seminal L.A. band that made heavy music into political manifesto, will reunite after a seven-year lull for one show as the headliners at the 2007 Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival.

Sources say Rage, which played the main stage at the first Coachella in 1999, will be joined by other familiar faces for the eighth edition of the festival, which covers three days this year and begins April 27: Red Hot Chili Peppers, which headlined in 2003, are back, as is Björk, who topped the bill in 2002.

Organizers were mum this weekend and it was not clear which day Rage or the other acts were slotted to play; that announcement is expected in the next few days. Other acts expected in the eclectic lineup: Arcade Fire, Interpol, Willie Nelson, the Roots, Manu Chao, the Decemberists, Arctic Monkeys, Sonic Youth, Crowded House, Air, Tiësto and Kings of Leon.

Tickets go on sale Saturday, via Ticketmaster. Three-day passes will cost about $250 and there will be a limited number of single-day passes available.

The headliners are not novel, but they are potent. The Peppers are up for their first best album Grammy right now, and Björk remains a mesmerizing figure to fans of avant pop. But in Southern California rock circles, there is very little that could compete with the excitement of a Rage Against the Machine reunion. The quartet's hybrid of funk, rap, metal and leftist ideology was as subtle as a Molotov cocktail; in the 1990s, its aggro-anthems made it the only band that mattered to a fan base that included East L.A. protest kids as well as those in Hollywood punk circles, college dorms and mainstream rock festival mosh pits, where politics were secondary to the group's feral energy.

The band is vocalist Zack de la Rocha, guitarist Tom Morello, bassist Tim Commerford and drummer Brad Wilk. Their split came amid rumors of bad blood between De la Rocha and his mates, who went on to work with Chris Cornell in Audioslave. However, Morello and De la Rocha appeared together at a 2005 rally for the urban farmers of a South Los Angeles community garden.

Who's in for a motel room?

Update:
Stereogum's got a full lineup, and it's confirmed by Billboard.

Party with the Fat Kids

End of the year consensus band TV on the Radio will be performing around the country beginning in March. Come check them out with four of your beloved cake lovin' bloggers.

Jerome, silent-partner Linda, and I will be going to the March 30th show at the Henry Fonda Theatre in Hollywood, while Juliet, who just recently popped her blog cherry, will be checking them out on April 18th at the 9:30 Club in DC. I know the tickets for the LA show are $18 before all the Ticketmaster bullshit, and I'm assuming the other shows are comparable, so go see them!

Here's their full itinerary.

Hickchella

With the announcement of the 2007 Coachella lineup looming only a few weeks away, people like me begin to grasp at straws for any kind of leak, be it rumored artists, some kind of behind-the-scenes drama, or if they finally loosened up on the outside food rule. Seriously, even though this only happens once a year, I'm getting pretty tired of hiding candy in my shoes and crotch.

As such, besides letting you know that in addition to the previously confirmed artists, !!!, Lupe Fiasco, and Blonde Redhead have all been confirmed through various sources. Remember the other festival I mentioned, Coachella's bastard country cousin? Stagecoach, as it is been dubbed, is up and running:

Although the Palomino Stage does generate some crossover appeal, I think we can kinda guess who're gonna show up for this one.

The Next Logical Step After Vitamin Water

Everybody's favorite walking piece of entrepreneurial target practice has just announced he's going to release his own brand of condoms. You can read the actual news piece here.

I love the analogy he uses in educating on safe sex: "The kids become immune when you constantly beat them over the head -- read a book, read a book..." The man's a fucking poet.

Marketing this thing would be so easy, though, wouldn't it? "Hi, I'm Fiddy Cent. As you or may not know, I've been shot at 9 times, so now I wear Kevlar. However, when I'm not protectin' my ass, you best know I'm protectin' my shit. That's why I wear Fiddy-brand rubbas. Bulletproof." How much you wanna bet he's gonna call them "Bulletproof"?

50 Cent: Lookin' out for your G-Unit since 2007.

Where is the Future of Our Music Going? ...Straight to Hell!

Ok, that was a bit dramatic.

I find articles like this very interesting because all this speculation of where music is going with technology is a bit nerve racking but exciting at the same time. It gives the underdogs [supporters of the independent music scene, but not limited to might I add] some hope that music can be universal and shared.

I suppose this doesn't count for a blog entry but I thought it was important to share so enjoy!